Cuba denounced this Wednesday at the UNICEF Executive Board’s annual session that the intensified United States blockade is severely harming the healthcare, nutrition and well-being of Cuban children.
During the annual session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Cuba’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ernesto Soberon, exposed the devastating consequences of the economic, commercial and financial blockade maintained by the United States against the island nation.
RELATED: Cuban Infant Mortality Rate Has Doubled Due to the U.S. Blockade Tightening
The Cuban diplomat asserted that the long-standing unilateral policy, exacerbated by recent energy restrictions and coercive measures, directly targets the most vulnerable sector of the population.
In my remarks at the @UNICEF Executive Board, I denounced the devastating impact that the intensified US blockade, the energy embargo, and so-called secondary measures have on Cuban children. I pointed out that the blockade exists, affects lives, and hinders development.
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) June 17, 2026
Severe Pediatric Crisis
Ambassador Ernesto Soberon detailed the severe human cost of the hostile Washington policy on the Cuban healthcare system. The diplomat reported that the infant mortality rate on the island experienced a notable increase, rising from 4.0 deaths per thousand live births in 2018 to 9.4 in 2025. Furthermore, the representative pointed out that acute shortages of essential medicines have directly caused a drop in the cancer survival rate among pediatric patients, which fell from 85% to 65%.
In addition to these statistics, the Cuban representative denounced that prolonged electrical blackouts combined with a critical lack of medical supplies have left more than 12,000 children on waiting lists for necessary surgical interventions.
Despite these adverse conditions, Ernesto Soberon reaffirmed that the Cuban State maintains the protection, health, and development of minors as its absolute maximum priority, working to safeguard their fundamental human rights.
To mitigate these hardships, the diplomat emphasized the importance of international cooperation. He expressed Cuba’s deep gratitude for joint programs executed alongside UNICEF and the United Nations Development System. These strategic initiatives have actively strengthened pediatric neonatology services, inclusive education systems, and clean water access across various communities on the island.
@antonioguterres, UN Secretary-General, stated it loud and clear: 1. There is absolutely no reason or pretext for military aggression against #Cuba. 2. The US blockade violates international law, causes suffering to the Cuban people, and, therefore, the world condemns it annually pic.twitter.com/9ZPSqoLPrQ
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) May 12, 2026
Energy Siege Impacts
The ongoing humanitarian crisis is heavily compounded by an aggressive energy crisis orchestrated by external political maneuvers. On January 29 of this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a restrictive Executive Order designed to impose severe tariffs on any foreign nation supplying petroleum to Cuba. This energy blockade was recently reinforced by direct sanctions targeted against the state-owned enterprise Union Cuba-Petroleo (Cupet).
According to official reports, this systematic fuel blockade has paralyzed domestic transport networks and prevented the utilization of 1,400 megawatts (MW) of distributed electrical generation. Consequently, local populations face daily blackouts exceeding 20 hours, which severely disrupt essential basic services such as domestic lighting, food preparation, water distribution networks, public television, and telecommunications.
The transport crisis and fuel deficit have also severely impacted child nutrition. Due to the lack of fuel to transport food from agricultural production centers to urban areas, more than 100,000 children do not receive their state-subsidized daily liter of milk.
#LetCubaLive https://t.co/9gIl6DM3dH
— Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) June 16, 2026
Despite this imperialist aggression, the Cuban diplomat called for predictable and flexible international funding to assist developing nations in overcoming poverty, hunger and environmental challenges.
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